A formal error costs the Haas Formula 1 team a total of 10,000 euros after qualifying for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Both Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen failed to electronically return a set of intermediate tires to Pirelli before the start of qualifying.
This is a violation of Article 30.5 (g) of the Sporting Regulations and the team must pay a penalty of 5,000 euros per driver. There is no harsher sanction because the tires were physically returned to Pirelli and only the electronic report was missing.
From a purely sporting point of view, the qualification for Hülkenberg went well again. The German made it into Q3 for the fourth time in the past five races and will start from tenth place on Sunday. “It wasn’t really great,” he judges on “Sky”.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t possible in Q3, but the laps were clean. I think I squeezed everything out,” he emphasizes and explains that he “at least has the feeling” that he didn’t waste any time. “But the pace just wasn’t enough,” he admits.
Hülkenberg had previously finished Q1 and Q2 in ninth and seventh positions, which surprised him a little, especially in the first part of qualifying. “That was a bit of my question mark before qualifying: How will the tough ones be? [Reifen] function?”
“That’s why it just couldn’t be today”
Because this weekend all drivers had to use the hard tires in Q1, and Hülkenberg explains: “We usually need the soft ones [Reifen]to make up for our deficits a bit [kaschieren]. And that’s where I had the most respect and thought it could be tight for us.”
“But it was enough, it worked. I don’t think it felt so bad, and from then on it got a little easier,” he says. But more than P10 was not possible in Q3. “Unfortunately we don’t have enough downforce on the car,” explains Hulkenberg.
“It’s missing in a few corners and places. I think it was one and a half tenths to the next place in front of me,” he says with regard to his gap to ninth place, which was in fact 0.141 seconds. And he couldn’t find that time “anywhere”.
“That’s why it just couldn’t be today,” Hülkenberg clarifies. It was different – once again – with my teammate. Kevin Magnussen again experienced “a disappointing qualifying” and ended up in 19th and penultimate place.
“I couldn’t find the pace on one lap this week. I think I just can’t find the confidence in the car on one lap,” muses Magnussen, who retired in Q1 for the fifth time in the past six races and was penultimate for the third time in a row.
“When I see what’s in the car, […] Of course it’s disappointing that I can’t do it myself,” he says of Hulkenberg’s performance and explains: “I feel more confident about the race, but here too we as a team have limitations.”
Formula 1: Haas will probably have to look backwards
Because Haas usually goes backwards in the race rather than forwards. Tire wear on the VF-23 continues to be a major concern, and it shouldn’t be any different given what is likely to be high temperatures in Hungary on Sunday.
As so often recently, Hülkenberg’s move into Q3 could once again have been the most positive aspect of the Haas weekend.